HAMPTON, Ga. — In a thrilling finish at Atlanta Motor Speedway on Sunday, Christopher Bell narrowly triumphed over Carson Hocevar and Kyle Larson during an overtime finish in the NASCAR Cup Series. Bell, driving for Joe Gibbs Racing, only led the race in the final lap, managing to maintain a slight lead on the outside when the caution flag waved after Josh Berry’s accident caused the overtime scenario.
“The last lap of the race is when we were at our best,” Bell reflected following his victory. At 30 years old, this marks Bell’s tenth win in his NASCAR Cup career.
Austin Cindric, driving his Team Penske Ford, had been in the lead before a crash involving him and William Byron, who had just won the Daytona 500 the previous week, occurred just three laps from the finish, ultimately leading to the overtime period.
Kyle Busch ended up finishing in seventh place, continuing his quest to end a winless streak in the Cup Series. After capturing victory in the Atlanta Truck Series race on Saturday, Busch is still seeking his first Cup win since 2023, having seen his previous record of a win over 19 consecutive years come to a halt last season.
Kyle Larson faced a difficult outing, having not finished in the top positions in the past four Atlanta races and being involved in accidents during each of the last six events. Nonetheless, Larson’s luck took a turn after qualifying in 17th position; the 2021 Cup Champion managed to claw his way back and secure a win in the second stage.
Late misfortunes struck for both Chase Elliott and Daniel Suarez. Elliott was running in the top 10 when he crashed into the wall and then collided with Brad Keselowski’s Ford from RFK Racing, prematurely ending Keselowski’s race; Elliott finished in 18th place. Suarez, who had previously achieved a thrilling victory over Ryan Blaney and Kyle Busch during a three-wide finish in February, faced disaster early in the third stage when he was caught in a multi-car wreck involving six other drivers, including Cole Custer and Ty Gibbs.
Despite a late spin that raised a caution flag, Blaney managed a strong recovery to finish fourth.
Billy Gibbons, the famous lead guitarist and vocalist of the rock band ZZ Top, took on the role of grand marshal for the day, delivering the iconic “start your engines” command.
In another development, 23XI Racing has announced a multi-year partnership with Corey Heim, who will serve as a development driver. Heim is set to participate in a limited number of Cup Series races in the No. 67 Toyota and also compete in Xfinity races, with his first Cup outing under this new agreement scheduled for May 11 at Kansas Speedway. Heim previously completed three Cup starts with 23XI Racing last year and secured a Truck Series victory at Daytona earlier this year, though he finished 23rd in the Atlanta Truck Series race on Saturday.
Looking ahead, the Cup Series will head to Austin, Texas, to compete at the Circuit of the Americas next Sunday.
